We're thrilled to announce that we have partnered with composers Alex Dowling, Andrew Rodriguez, Annika Socolofsky, and Michi Wiancko for the third round of the Friction Commissioning Initiative. Each composer will have the opportunity to create their own mini-album of work meant to be experienced in its fullness as a produced recording rather than the concert hall. These composers have a wealth of knowledge spanning the gamut of composing and producing, and they are incredible artists, vocalists, and instrumentalists. We know this project will be nothing short of magical, and we need your help to bring this collection of E.P's to fruition.

We have already raised all of the funds we need to commission the composers. All additional donations will cover the creation of the album. All donations are fully tax deductible and go solely towards the cost of funding the work of these amazing composers.

Alex Dowling is an Irish composer and producer. His current work involves repurposing autotune and other vocal effects to create strange and otherworldly extensions of the voice. Recent projects include a commission from Irish National Opera to create a work for boy soprano as part of their 20 Shots of Opera project and a collaboration with director Blanka Zizka and visual artist Rosa Barba for the show ‘There’ at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. His album of electronic vocal works, Reality Rounds, was released in January 2020 on Carrier Records and is described as “an enthralling trance of live-processed vocals and synthesizers" (The Road to Sound). 

Dowling

Annika Socolofsky is a composer and avant folk vocalist who explores corners and colors of the voice frequently deemed to be "untrained" and not "classical." Described as “unbearably moving” (Gramophone) and “just the right balance between edgy precision and freewheeling exuberance” (The Guardian), her music erupts from the embodied power of the human voice and is communicated through mediums ranging from orchestral to unapologetically joyous Dolly Parton covers. Annika writes extensively for her own voice, including composing a growing repertoire of “feminist rager-lullabies” for a new, queer era titled Don’t say a word. Annika has collaborated with artists such as the Rochester Philharmonic, Albany Symphony, Knoxville Symphony Orchestra, Eighth Blackbird, Third Coast Percussion, So Percussion, Asko|Schönberg, and sean-nós singer Iarla Ó Lionáird, among others. She is Assistant Professor of Composition at the University of Colorado Boulder, and is the recipient of the 2021 Gaudeamus Award. She holds her PhD in Composition from Princeton University.

Socolofsky

With a history as a touring punk/hardcore guitarist and an ethos built on the tenets of a DIY scene, Andrew Rodriguez creates music that is both raw and dramatically expressive. The lasting impression of performing intense and passionate music night after night has imbued him with a particular interest in art as a collective experience. Andrew has also remained active in the indie music scene as both a songwriter and producer. As a producer, he combines the experimentalism of his compositional practice to expand and fortify the sonic imprint of the artists he works with. These three avenues (composing, songwriting, and producing) often intersect to create a unique vision wherein lies Rodriguez’s voice. Having built his career on writing and performing music with close friends and collaborators, Rodriguez is eager to develop long-lasting relationships with artists and musicians that share the same vision of collaboration.

Rodriguez

Widely regarded as a highly imaginative composer, violinist Michi Wiancko has been commissioned by artists and ensembles throughout the country, and her creative work encompasses a wide spectrum of composition, collaboration, and interpretation.

Recent commissions and projects include works for Boston Chamber Music Society, NOW Ensemble, The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, Aizuri Quartet, Jupiter Quartet, American Ballet Theater, Anne Akiko Meyers, Experiments in Opera (Arkana Aquarium), Cleveland Opera Theater (The Stream). Michi also composes music for films, commercials, and for her band, Kono Michi.

She gave her violin solo debuts with the New York Philharmonic, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and performed her recital debut in New York’s Weill Hall. Her solo album, Planetary Candidate, was released on New Amsterdam Records, and she has recorded and released the complete solo works of Émile Sauret on Naxos. As a violinist, chamber musician, and passionate interpreter of contemporary music, Michi has toured and/or worked with many of today’s great composers, artists, and ensembles.

Her mentors include Donald Weilerstein and the late violinist and composer Robert Mann, with whom she studied at the Cleveland Institute of Music and Juilliard, respectively. Michi is the director of Antenna Cloud Farm, a music festival and artists’ retreat

Wiancko